The Approach to Acting

The concept to acting at the R. L. studio will be based upon the fundamental principles of the comprehensive Beverly Hills Playhouse Approach as conceived and developed by Milton Katselas over the last 40 years.

Emphasis will be placed in three main areas. Acting: The development of one's craft by acquiring a set of tools through a variety of exercises and scene work that gives an artist confidence and certainty. Administration: Root word is minister or servant. Minister: To have charge of; manage. Servant: To be of assistance to or promote the interests of. Attitude: A state of mind or a feeling; disposition; a frame of mind affecting one’s thoughts or behavior.

The approach is based upon moment to moment spontaneous work, drawn first from the circumference of one's life experience.  The twelve and twelve as I call it.  The twelve hours of light and the twelve hours of darkness of one's life journey so that the actor is working on a personal basis, even though they may sometimes be playing characters far removed from themselves.  Scene work is the basic platform of study.  Environmental exercises, picture exercises, song and dance exercises, improvisation and other exercise models will be used on an individual basis to supplement and support what is discovered through scene study.  It's important to build strength where strength exist, so identifying one's casting is important. 

Camera technique will be taught to help the actor bridge the relationship between the stage and film.  The actor will learn how to modulate the imagination, boldness, risk-taking and willingness to fail that one learns on the stage so that they can be just as effective and no less evaluated on film. 

Click here for testimonials of Richard's teachings at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.